Chapter 9 Flashcards
Race as a reality
- racial differences become important because people believe them to be.
- assigning people to racial groups has great social significance and people attach meaning to them
- in sociology terms, “race” is a category of people who share observable physical characteristics and whom others see as being a distinct group
- sociologists were concerned with how people react to physical characteristics and the impact the reactions have on individuals
ethnicity
The set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes one group from another group
Things about ethnicity
- ethnicity
- ethnic group
- ethnicity is based on characteristics such as national origin, religion, language, customs, and values
- ethnic groups must pass cultural beliefs and practices from generation to generation
- ethnic identity can cross racial or national boundaries
- ethnicity is based on cultural traits, while race is based on physical traits
Ethnic group
People who share a common cultural background and a common sense of identity
Things about minority groups
-although no particular physical feature or ethnic background is superior or inferior to any other, many sociologists recognize that people may place an arbitrary value on specific characteristics
Minority group
A group of people who-because of their physical characteristics or cultural practices-are singled out and treated unequally
-in this sense, the term minority has nothing to do with group size, but with the unequal standing in society in relation to a dominant group
Race as a myth
- many people think that humankind can be sorted into biologically distinct groups called races
- this idea suggests that there are “pure” examples of different races and that any person can belong to only one race (based on skin color, hair texture, physical characteristics, etc.)
- biologists, geneticists, and social scientists reject this view of race
- all people belong to the human species
- there are greater differences within racial groups than between racial groups.
Dominant group
The group that possesses the ability to discriminate by virtue of its greater power, privilege, and social status in a society
Dominant group in American society
White people with Northern European ancestry
Characteristics that distinguish minority groups
- possesses identifiable physical or cultural characteristics that differ from the dominant group
- recipients of unequal treatment at the hands of the dominant group
- member in the group is an ascribed status
- share a strong bond and sense of group loyalty
- tend to practice endogamy (marriage within the group)
Discrimination and prejudice
-the inequality experienced by minority groups are common across the globe
Things about discrimination
- discrimination
- can occur on an individual level or societal level
- legal discrimination
- institutionalized discrimination
Discrimination
The denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership
Legal discrimination
Upheld by law
Institutionalized discrimination
Outgrowth of the structure of a society
Things about prejudice
- prejudice
- stereotype
- self-fulfilling prophecy
- racism
Prejudice
An unsupported generalization about a category of people
Stereotype
Over-simplified, exaggerated, or unfavorable generalization about a group
Self-fulfilling prophecy
A prediction resulting in behavior that fulfills the prophecy
Racism
The belief that one’s own race is superior
Robert k Merton
Argued that prejudice and discrimination are related, but do not always go hand-in-hand
- people combine them in four ways
* the active bigot
* the timid bigot
* the fair-weather liberal
* the all-weather liberal
The active bigot
The active bigot is prejudiced and openly discriminatory
The timid bigot
The timid bigot is prejudiced, but is afraid to discriminate because of societal pressures
